What do the colors of the bisexual pride flag mean? Here's who created the design.
Bisexual individuals make up the largest portion of the LGBTQ+ community, but they’re still less likely to come out, largely underrepresented in political leadership and face unique bias even from LGBTQ+ peers.
Ever wanted to learn about the flag the bi community has adopted to proudly represent their identity? Here’s a basic rundown of its colors and history.
What do the colors of the bisexual flag mean?
The bisexual pride flag comprises three stripes – pink, purple and blue.
According to Michael Page, the flag's creator, pink represents same-sex attraction and blue is for opposite-sex attraction. The purple stripe in the middle overlaps the two colors, symbolizing more than one type of attraction.
“The purple pixels of color blend unnoticeably into both the pink and blue, just as in the ‘real world’ where most bi people blend unnoticeably into both the gay/lesbian and straight communities,” Page wrote on his now archived blog, BiCafe.
History of the bisexual flag
Page created the flag in 1998 to create a rallying symbol for the bi community, which has historically been underrepresented.
Page was inspired by the Biangles symbol, two overlapping blue and pink triangles created by artist Liz Nania in 1985, which is one of the first symbols of bi visibility.
In Nania’s work, the overlapping colors symbolize attraction to all sexes by using the colors traditionally associated with girls and boys. The color lavender, created by the combination of pink and blue, is a longtime symbol of queerness in the U.S.
The triangles themselves extended further in LGBTQ+ history – in Nazi Germany, gay people were forced to wear inverted pink triangles to show low social status.